Ambulance

The airplane encountered a loss of control in flight while approaching Manila and crashed into a private resort located in Barangay Pansol, Calamba, Laguna, Philippines. It lost radar contact with Manila Approach after being cleared to descent from 9,000 feet for 5,000 feet tracking-in radial 170, 25 DME to Ninoy Aquino International Airport (RPLL). The aircraft wreckage was found in a private resort with coordinates of 14°10’33.62” N and 121°11’34” E and heading approximately 228° with most its fuselage totally burned. All the nine (9) occupants were fatally injured and two (2) other persons on the ground sustained serious injuries. The aircraft took off from Dipolog Principal Airport (RPMG), Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte bound for Manila (RPLL) on a MEDEVAC flight. Instrument Metrological Condition (lMC) prevailed at the time of the accident.

On 24 April 2019, the Keewatin Air LP Beechcraft B200 aircraft (registration C‑FRMV, serial number BB979), equipped to perform medical evacuation flights, was conducting an instrument flight rules positioning flight (flight KEW202), with 2 flight crew members and 2 flight nurses on board, from Winnipeg/James Armstrong Richardson International Airport, Manitoba, to Rankin Inlet Airport, Nunavut, with a stop at Churchill Airport, Manitoba. At 1814 Central Daylight Time, when the aircraft was cruising at flight level 250, the flight crew declared an emergency due to a fuel issue. The flight crew diverted to Gillam Airport, Manitoba, and initiated an emergency descent. During the descent, both engines flamed out. The flight crew attempted a forced landing on Runway 23, but the aircraft touched down on the frozen surface of Stephens Lake, 750 feet before the threshold of Runway 23. The landing gear was fully extended. The aircraft struck the rocky lake shore and travelled up the bank toward the runway area. It came to rest 190 feet before the threshold of Runway 23 at 1823:45 Central Daylight Time. None of the occupants was injured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage. The 406 MHz emergency locator transmitter activated. Emergency services responded. There was no fire.

Following an uneventful flight, the crew configured the aircraft for landing when he realized that the right main landing gear was stuck in its wheel well. The crew continued the approach and landed on runway 15. The airplane fell on its belly, causing the right wing to struck the ground. The airplane slid for few hundred metres then veered off runway to the left and came to rest in a grassy area. All nine occupants were rescued and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The pilot of the medical transport flight had been cleared by the air traffic controller for the instrument approach and told by ATC to change to the advisory frequency, which the pilot acknowledged. After crossing the initial approach fix on the RNAV approach, the airplane began a gradual descent and continued northeast towards the intermediate fix. Before reaching the intermediate fix, the airplane entered a right turn and began a rapid descent, losing about 2,575 ft of altitude in 14 seconds; radar returns were then lost. A witness at the destination airport, who was scheduled to meet the accident airplane, observed the pilot-controlled runway lights illuminate. When the airplane failed to arrive, she contacted the company to inquire about the overdue airplane. The following day, debris was found floating on the surface of the ocean. About 48 days later, after an extensive underwater search, the heavily fragmented wreckage was located on the ocean floor at a depth of about 500 ft. A postaccident examination of the engines revealed contact signatures consistent with the engines developing power at the time of impact and no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. A postaccident examination of the airframe revealed about a 10° asymmetric flap condition; however, significant impact damage was present to the flap actuator flex drive cables and flap actuators, indicating the flap actuator measurements were likely not a reliable source of preimpact flap settings. In addition, it is unlikely that a 10° asymmetric flap condition would result in a loss of control. The airplane was equipped with a total of 5 seats and 5 restraints. Of the three restraints recovered, none were buckled. The unbuckled restraints could suggest an emergency that required crewmembers to be up and moving about the cabin; however, the reason for the unbuckled restraints could not be confirmed. While the known circumstances of the accident are consistent with a loss of control event, the factual information available was limited because the wreckage in its entirety was not recovered, the CVR recording did not contain the accident flight, no non-volatile memory was recovered from the accident airplane, and no autopsy or toxicology of the pilot could be performed; therefore, the reason for the loss of control could not be determined. Due to the limited factual information that was available, without a working CVR there is little we know about this accident.

The pilot and two medical crewmembers were repositioning the airplane to pick up a patient for aeromedical transport. Dark night instrument meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight. Radar data showed the airplane climb to 14,000 ft mean sea level after departure and proceed direct toward the destination airport before beginning a right descending turn. The airplane subsequently broke up inflight and impacted terrain. No distress calls were received from the pilot before the accident. Although weather conditions were conducive for inflight icing, no evidence of structural icing was identified at the scene. The debris field was 2,500 ft long and the disbursement of the wreckage confirmed that both wings, the horizontal stabilizer, both elevators, and both engines separated from the airplane before impacting the ground. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the initiating failure was the failure of the wing where it passed through the center of the airplane. The three wing spars exhibited S-bending deformation, indicative of positive overload producing compressive buckling and fracture. Further, impact signatures as black paint transfers and gouged aluminum, were consistent with the left outboard wing separating when it was struck by the right engine after the wing spars failed. There was no evidence of any pre-exiting conditions that would have degraded the strength of the airplane structure at the fracture locations. Flight control continuity was confirmed. An examination of the engines, propellers, and available systems showed no mechanical malfunctions or failure that could have contributed to the accident. The descending right turn was inconsistent with the intended flight track and ATC-provided clearance. However, there was insufficient information to determine how it was initiated and when the pilot became aware of the airplane's state in the dark night IMC conditions. Yet, the
absence of a distress call or communication with ATC about the airplane's deviation suggests that the pilot was not initially aware of the change in state. The structural failure signatures on the airplane were indicative of the wings failing in positive overload, which was consistent with the pilot initiating a pullup maneuver that exceeded the airplane spars' structural integrity during an attempted recovery from the spiral dive.

After takeoff, the commercial pilot saw flames coming from the left engine nacelle area. He retarded the throttle and turned off the fuel boost pump; however, the fire continued. He then feathered the propeller, shut down the engine, and maneuvered the airplane below the clouds to remain in the local traffic pattern. He attempted to keep the runway environment in sight while drifting in and out of clouds. He was unable to align the airplane for landing on the departure runway, so he attempted to land on another runway. When he realized that the airspeed was decreasing and that the airplane would not reach the runway, he landed it on an adjacent grass field. After touchdown, the landing gear separated, and the airplane came to a stop. The airframe sustained substantial damage to the wings and lower fuselage. Examination of the left engine revealed evidence of a fuel leak where the fuel mixture control shaft inserted into the fuel injector body, which likely resulted in fuel leaking onto the hot turbocharger in flight and the in-flight fire. A review of recent maintenance records did not reveal any entries regarding maintenance or repair of the fuel injection system. The pilot reported clouds as low as 500 ft with rain, snow, and reduced visibility at the time of the accident, which likely reduced his ability to see the runway and maneuver the airplane to land on it.

The twin engine aircraft departed Dundo Airport at 1658LT on an ambulance flight to Luanda, carrying three doctors, one patient from South Africa and three crew members. About 15 minutes into the flight, the crew reported engine problems when one of them caught fire shortly later. The airplane went out of control and crashed in an open field located near Cuilo, about 170 km southwest of Dundo. All seven occupants were killed.

The twine engine airplane departed Almaty Airport at 1835LT on an ambulance flight to Shymkent, carrying two doctors, two pilots and one flight mechanic. About 22 minutes into the flight, while cruising by night and poor weather conditions, the crew encountered an unexpected situation and was forced to shut down the right engine. Shortly later, the aircraft crashed near the village of Mezhdurechenskoye, some 28 km northwest of Almaty Airport, bursting into flames. The aircraft was totally destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all five occupants were killed.

The twin engine airplane departed North Bay on an ambulance flight to Arnprior, carrying two pilots and a doctor. Following an uneventful flight, the crew was cleared for a VOR/DME approach to runway 28 under VFR conditions. On short final, the aircraft descended too low and impacted ground 50 metres short of runway. Upon impact, the nose gear collapsed and the airplane slid for about 600 metres before coming to rest. All three occupants evacuated safely and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The Beechcraft LR-2 Hayabusa (a version of the Beechcraft 350 Super King Air) departed Sapporo-Okadama Airport at 1123LT on a flight to Hakodate to evacuate a patient. On board were two doctors and two pilots. While descending to Hakodate at an altitude of 3,000 feet, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with low clouds and rain showers when the airplane registered 23057 (JG-3057) impacted the slope of a mountain located near Assabu, about 40 km northwest of Hakodate Airport. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all four occupants were killed.